Life

Cooking with Corbin: Mushroom Barley Kale Soup

Power plants and grains come together in a hearty, nutrient-packed soup.

With reduced training hours and colder temperatures, it can be easy to turn to comfort foods and pack on unwanted weight during the winter. Healthy soups are the perfect antidote to cravings for warm, sustaining food that's not only packed with nutrients, but provides bonus hydration as well. This recipe comes to us from top-10 Kona athlete Linsey Corbin, who's recent kale kick is helping her stay healthy through the off season.

"My obsession with kale the past few months continues with this vegetarian soup to heat you up after a cold mountain adventure," the Montana resident says. Put this easy-to-make soup on your list of food to make this week, share the bounty, and freeze the rest to heat up on a cold evening.

Mushroom Barley Kale Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3/4 pound of crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 portabello mushroom, chopped

1 cup of mushrooms, sliced (be flexible here, you can also try dried porcini, shiitake, or another choice)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, 5-10 minutes. (I usually chop my other veggies while this is going on).

Add the carrot and celery. Continue to stir and cook another 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add the seasonings. I do a little bit of everything (approximately 1 teaspoon rosemary, salt and pepper), a few chili flakes if you like a bit of kick, and a dash of nutmeg.

Squeeze half a lemon into the mixture, and add the veggie stock, along with the barley. I also toss in one parmesan rind (the hard, inedible piece at the end of a piece of parmesan).

Simmer for 45 minutes. Do some core work while you wait!

Meanwhile, stack the kale and finely chop. Add to the soup and simmer another 15 minutes.

Serve the soup hot with some crusty whole-grain bread. I like to top it off with some freshly grated parmesan. As a side note, the barely absorbs a lot of liquid. If re-heating as leftovers, add some additional stock or water.